be treated better than the rest.
Gina placed a huge plate of food in front of him—shrimp, fried cheese, steak and chicken wings.
‘You know what I like,’ Malvolio said, licking his lips, and then he looked from Gina to Bella.
He could not be bothered with drama and fear tonight, he was tired, he wanted the familiar, not that he would ever admit it.
‘Take her now,’ Malvolio said to Matteo. ‘Now, before I change my mind...’ He picked up his fork and Matteo removed his hand from up Bella’s skirt and stood.
Not Matteo, she silently pleaded as he took her arm.
Not like this.
He was leading her out of the bar, towards the back exit and the stinking alley, and then she heard Malvolio call to him. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Out the back...’ Matteo said.
‘You are my second man.’ He snapped his fingers to Gina and she nodded for them to come to her and she handed Matteo a room card.
‘No.’ It was the first time Bella had said it but it fell on deaf ears. Without a word Matteo led her out of the bar and through the foyer and into the elevator.
‘Matteo, no...’
It was like the worst nightmare colliding with the best dream; it was worse than anything she had imagined, because it was a man she had cared about who was treating her like this.
‘Bella, just go with it,’ Matteo said. ‘I’ll explain soon. You’re going to have to trust me for now.’
‘Never.’
Malvolio came to the bar and watched the CCTV and saw Bella dragging her feet, and at one point she broke free and ran...
‘Bella!’ Matteo grabbed her and she fought him.
She swore at him.
Matteo knew, he was positive, in fact, that they were being watched, and so he laughed and sneered at her.
He kissed her hard against the wall, he muffled her cries and ran his hand again over her skirt, and she fought him but there was no chance against his strength.
He dragged her down the hall and into the elevators and Bella went to bite him in the hope of running again, but Matteo slapped her cheek.
It was a stinging slap, a hard slap that left her shocked and stunned that he could ever do this. Not just to her. That the man she had held a torch for could turn into a monster before her eyes. He was nothing like she had imagined.
Tears rose in her eyes and she let out a silent sob as they spilled out. Not that he cared, his rough kisses took her all the way up to the top floor.
‘Good boy,’ Malvolio said, and then headed back to his steak and shrimp. ‘You know, I always thought he was a bit soft. It would seem that I had him wrong.’
Bella, as Matteo pushed her into the hotel room, was thinking exactly the same.
‘IT’S OKAY...’
She was still fighting him but he pulled her right into him the moment the door closed on them, just so she wouldn’t run.
‘We’re alone now.’
His words did not soothe Bella.
She had dreamt of being alone with Matteo, only it had never, ever been anything like this.
Her cheek was stinging from his slap, her arm was sore where he had grabbed her roughly, and now he was trying to calm her.
‘I thought better of you...!’ Bella shouted, trying to push him off.
‘We’re not going to do anything,’ Matteo said. ‘I knew that Malvolio would be watching on the cameras so I had to be rough, but I’m telling you now that I’m not going to hurt you, Bella, I’m not going to touch you.’
He was rough for the last time with her. He practically peeled a raging Bella off him and pushed her onto the bed, where she sat for a long moment.
Her breathing was starting to slow down, his words were filtering in and starting to make sense. She knew that there were cameras in all of the corridors— Malvolio watched his staff like a hawk—but here in the hotel rooms there were none.
The long look that Matteo had given her downstairs was starting to make sense, along with the restraint in his fingers. He had been trying to get her away from Malvolio.
‘You could have told me.’
‘I tried to.’
‘You could have tried harder,’ she hurled at him—her heart was still beating too fast and her veins pumped with adrenaline. ‘You should have explained.’
‘What, and walk up to the suite holding hands?’ Matteo scorned. ‘I’m sorry I hit you, that it came to that, but had you run back down there...’
Bella nodded, she got it now.
She looked at the surroundings. At the time she had paid no attention to where Matteo had been taking her but, from working here, she knew the room.
‘I guess Malvolio gets the presidential suite?’ Bella said.
It was a cheap hotel but, still, it was far more luxury than she was used to.
The French windows were open but it was a hot and sultry night and there was only the occasional breeze. The ceiling fan above the bed was turned off and she glanced up at it.
‘Do you want it on?’ he asked.
‘Isn’t it supposed to be about what you want?’ Bella asked, as he flicked the switch and the fan whirred into life, but Matteo just went back to resting against the wall.
‘So we just wait here?’ Bella asked.
‘Yes.’
He expected her to be relieved, for thanks even, but instead his eyes narrowed as she gave a mocking laugh.
‘Oh, Matteo the big saviour,’ Bella said. ‘Don’t you see that all you’ve done is delay the inevitable? How can that possibly help me?’
‘You don’t have to...’ He stopped. In this town, all too often, there was no choice. ‘You could leave tonight.’
She didn’t deign a response but he pushed on.
‘I hear that Sophie is following her father to Rome. You could go with her tonight. I might have fallen asleep after sex...’
‘So I can be homeless and poor in Rome.’
‘Not for long,’ Matteo said. ‘You would find your feet, I am sure.’
‘Thanks but, no thanks, for the reprieve,’ she said, and he went and sat in a chair as she got up from the bed and roamed the room.
She saw a bottle of wine and picked it up.
‘Open it,’ Matteo said.
‘I thought you said that you wanted a clear head.’
‘It’s the last thing I want now.’ He felt ill seeing the mark on her cheek. Her cheap dress was torn and the fear he had heard in her voice had Matteo’s heart still pounding.
Not that he showed it.
She poured two glasses, though with far steadier hands than she had downstairs, and as she passed one to him their fingers met, and so did their eyes. Bella gave him a small nod, perhaps of thanks, because she knew he had only been trying to help.
There was no help to be had, though.
She wandered out to the balcony and stood there, gazing at the darkening night, and after